Metal corner-piece for boxes



(No Model.)

J. G. WEIR. METAL 001mm PIECE FOR BOXES.

No. 406,156. Patented July 2, 1889.

Fig.4.

I 11H Emm Wim E5525 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES C. \VEIR, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

METAL CORNER-PIECE FOR BOXES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 406,156, dated July 2,1889.

Application filed October 16, 1883- Serial No. 288,275. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JAMES C. \VEIR, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city and county of San Francisco, and State ofCalifornia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inMetallic Corner-Pieces for Trunks and Boxes, of which the following is aspecification.

Myinvention relates to improvements in the construction of trunks andboxes that are used for the transportation of goods and wares; and ithas for its object the production of an improved metallic corner-piece,by which the construction of the trunk or box is rendered easier andcheaper, besides being greatly increased in strength and made capable ofstanding rough handling and usage.

In the accompanying drawings, that form a part of this specification,Figure 1 represents a trunk or packing-box with my corner-pieces appliedto the corners of the body and also to the lid, a portion of the frontbeing broken away to expose the inside. Fig. 2 is a perspective View ofa box without a lid or cover, which is adapted for transporting fruit,produce, merchandise, and other matter in an uncovered state, such boxeswhen filled being piled up one 011 the other, and the bottom of one boxserving as the cover of the one beneath. Fig. 3 is a perspective View ofmy metallic corners before the boards are fixed in place. Fig. 4 is atop view of the cornerplate for the bottom corner-pieces, the bottom,side, and end of the box at one corner being shown in section. Fig. 5shows the under side of the lower corner-piece.

Myim proved corner-piece is produced from any suitable metal, preferablyby casting, and is formed of two angle-plates a a, each of which is aright-angle plate, and the two are so placed and attached together inparallel position and one within the other that a right-angle channel ais left between them. This channel corresponds in width to the thicknessof the stuff used for the box or trunk, or, as illustrated in thedrawings, the lumber of which the sides and ends are made can besomewhat thicker than the space between the plates, and both the innerand outer-plates of the corner-pieces can be let into the wood flush onboth sides. The two plates are united along corresponding edges by theweb a which in the corners A produced for the top unites the top edgesof the plates and in the corners A for the bottom is directly reversedand unites the bottom edges of the plates. The plates at a and the web aand preferably the projection c, as hereinafter described, are formedintegral, preferably by casting. Those plates produced for the bottomcorners of the box have a flange-plate a filling the inner angle andsetting flush with the lower face of the corner-plate on which thebottom of the box is placed.

Holes 1) b, for screws or nails, are prox ided through the plates at a,and also through the bottom flanges, if desired, and in some kinds ofboxes, where additional strength and stiffness are desired at thecorners, the angle-irons B B are combined with the corner-plates, asshown in Figs. 2 and 3 more especially, and in such case additionalholes for screws or nails to secure the ends of the angle-irons areprovided. By using these angle-irons in connection With the metalliccorner-pieces a strong box can be constructed of comparatively thin orlight lumber, and in most cases, and particularly in boxes of ordinarysizes, no other nails or fastenings need be used in the box, as thesides, ends, and bottom will be held in place and close joints obtainedbythe cornerplates and the angle-irons. Such construction applies moreparticularly to boxes wherein tight joints are not essential, as in theopen packing-box represented in Fig. 2. It should be mentioned, also,that the sides and ends of a box may be properly held, without nails orother fastenings, by mitering the corners and driving the metalliccorner-pieces in place, the stuff of which the box is made being ofsuitable thickness to fit tightly into the chan nels between the platesa a, and then fixing the angle-irons in place after the bottom of thebox is set. I

The plate A, that is produced for the upper corners of a box or a trunk,has avstanding lug or pin 0 on the top, and the bottom of thecorner-plate A that is intended for the lower corner of the box and ofthe lid or cover, is furnished with a hole or recess 0*, correspond ingwith the lug C in form, so that when two opposingcorner-plates A and Aare brought together the lugs at the corners of the receptacle will fitinto the recesses of the corners of the part that sets down on the box,and thus secure the two articles from lateral movement. Boxes providedwith these cornerplates can be piled upon one another and the bottom ofone be made to form the cover of the box next beneath it.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination,with a box, of a cornerpiece for the upper corner,consisting of two parallel angle plates and a connecting-web, anangle-piece for the lower corner, consisting of two parallelangle-plates,a connecting- \Vitnesses:

C. XV. M. SMITH, CHAS. E. KELLY.

